Cruise will reduce robotaxi fleet by 50% in San Francisco while California DMV investigates ‘incidents’

Cruise volition trim its robotaxi fleet by 50% successful San Francisco, the California Department of Motor Vehicles told CNBC.

The determination comes aft Cruise autonomous vehicles were progressive successful aggregate crashes successful San Francisco this week wherever the self-driving cars appeared to stall successful intersections, including one connected Thursday night erstwhile it collided with a occurrence truck.

The simplification is simply a setback for Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, which started offering a paid robotaxi work successful San Francisco aft it and Alphabet's Waymo received permission to grow driverless operations and transportation paying passengers 24 hours a time each implicit San Francisco. Cruise is presently operating with a waitlist.

It besides highlights the increasing statement successful San Francisco implicit driverless cars. Opponents accidental they are unsafe and interfere with firefighters and different archetypal responders, portion defenders accidental they are innovative and volition marque getting astir the metropolis cheaper and easier.

"The DMV is investigating caller concerning incidents involving Cruise vehicles successful San Francisco," a DMV spokesperson said successful a statement. "The DMV is successful interaction with Cruise and instrumentality enforcement officials to find the facts and requested Cruise to instantly trim its progressive fleet of operating vehicles by 50% until the probe is implicit and Cruise takes due corrective actions to amended roadworthy safety."

The DMV said Cruise has agreed to the simplification and volition person nary much than 50 of its autonomous vehicles operating during the time and nary much than 150 operating during the evening. Cruise said successful August it was operating 300 cars during the nighttime and 100 during the day.

A spokesperson for Cruise was not instantly disposable for remark extracurricular of concern hours.

In a blog station connected Friday night, Cruises' San Francisco wide manager Greg Dietrerich wrote that the mishap with a Cruise conveyance and firetruck connected Thursday had "several factors" that contributed to the incident, including buildings astatine the intersection that are hard to spot around. He besides said the firetruck was driving successful the incorrect lane to "bypass" a reddish light.

"We volition proceed to enactment successful concern with regulators and metropolis departments connected EMV interactions to trim the likelihood of incidents similar these happening again," Dietrerich wrote.

Cruise's fleet was progressive successful respective incidents implicit the past week that drew media attention. In summation to the clang with a firetruck, 1 Cruise conveyance reportedly got stuck successful concrete, and an autonomous conveyance with a rider got deed by a driver. The different operator successful that incidental was moving a reddish light, according to Cruise. Last weekend, a slew of Cruise vehicles stalled and slowed postulation extracurricular an outdoor euphony festival.

— CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this story.